Durfee basketball beats Bridgewater-Raynham, secures playoff berth

Monday

Feb 10, 2014 at 11:49 PMFeb 10, 2014 at 11:54 PM

After missing the postseason for the past four years, the Hilltoppers have secured a place in the MIAA tournament.

Connor BerubeCorrespondent

FALL RIVER — At the start of the season, Durfee’s first-year basketball coach Jameson Guimond thought his Hilltoppers had the potential to make the MIAA State Tournament for the first time since 2010. In their 17th game, that potential became a reality.

With a fourth-quarter rally ignited by sophomore Chris Farrington, Durfee defeated nonleague Bridgewater-Raynham, 75-63, at the Luke Urban Field House on Monday night.

The Hilltoppers’ playoff berth comes after accumulating a 24-58 record the past four years under former head coach Steve Motta.

“It’s a testament to the kids’ hard work,” Guimond said of his team. “They come in every single day with a lot of things going on in their lives and showed a commitment to each other and themselves, and this is their reward for that.”

Durfee came into the last quarter ahead, 53-48, and was looking to break the contest open, but the Trojans kept pace. With the score at 63-57, Farrington lofted a field goal to give the Hilltoppers breathing room.

Moments later, B-R came within three when Jack Connolly knocked down a 3-pointer (66-63) at 1:30, but Durfee pulled away permanently with a 9-0 run that featured a perfect 6-for-6 showing from the line by Farrington. He finished the night with 22 points.

Durfee outscored B-R 22-15 in the fourth.

“Chris is a dynamic player,” Guimond said. “He’s very good offensively and defensively. He has a lot of talent and as he gets older, he’s going to dig deeper into that talent. But tonight, with ten fourth-quarter points, that’s the difference in the game.”

“From working together every day and going through ups and downs every day of the season, we’ve come prepared for tough games like this,” Guimond said. “The difference that I see with this team is that they’re able to close games out now and win the games they’re supposed to win while being tough and staying together and doing stuff that basketball players are supposed to do.”

Although the Hilltoppers (10-7) got immediate production from Robinson (14 points) to start the contest, the Trojans (9-9) ended the first stanza with a 19-18 lead that included a 7-0 run.

Alex Rose and Jaime Carey combined for 11 points from the field for the Trojans in the second quarter to give B-R a 33-29 lead at 1:20, but thanks to three-point plays by Bindig and Salmon the rest of the way, Durfee hit the locker room ahead, 34-33.

The Hilltoppers temporarily lost momentum in the third when B-R tied the game at 43-43 with a lay-up at 4:30, but regained it on a 10-2 run (getting the last six from Robinson) and led 53-48 with one quarter left to play. The Trojan offense went stone-cold during the eight minutes, going 3-for-23 from the field.

“We’re going into every gym and try and win every game that we play,” Guimond said. “The kids put hard work into the offseason. More importantly, every kid on the varsity team passed this term. That academic achievement is just as important to these kids as basketball.”

Rose led the Trojans with 24 points and Carey followed with 19.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.